Running With The Night
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: You're not supposed to fall for a hostage and said hostage isn't supposed to fall for you. Summer of 1989 is taking a confusing turn for both Carter Grant and Maria Vercetti and they don't know if they should stop it. (Co-written with GirlGoneGamer)
1. Chapter 1

19 year old Maria Vercetti had only ducked into the bank to escape the storm… she hadn't been expected to be hit over the head and knocked to the ground.

"Jesus Christ, C!" Michael exclaimed.

"What? No witnesses, M…" Carter explained.

"Fuck my life…" Maria muttered as she cradled the back of her head, Trevor eying her as her black cut out mini dress was stuck to her tiny frame.

"I'd rather fuck you til my life ends!" Trevor says with a smirk, Carter glaring at him.

"You're so disgusting, T." Carter said.

"What?! She looks legal!" Trevor says.

"Ain't we got something to do besides eying young ladies like her?" Carter asked.

Trevor pointed the shotgun at the clerk, who filled the bag with cash.

' _Fuck, Tommy's gonna be pissed about this!'_ Maria thought, Trevor pulling his mask off.

"How do the locals stand this humidity?!" Trevor growls.

"Asshole, what the fuck are you doing?" Carter asked.

"Trying to breathe, damn it-" Trevor shouts, yelling out in pain as a loud bang echoed. He fell, Michael and Brad running to him as Carter looked around for the weapon.

Clutched in Maria's hands as she stood before him was the Colt Python that Tommy kept with him, Carter looking at her in rage.

"You little bitch!" Carter hissed, aiming his assault rifle at her. "You want a ticket to heaven?"

"Heaven wouldn't take me after the hell I've caused!" Maria growled after kicking Carter between his legs. "And don't you ever hit me again!"

"Fuck the money!" Michael says, grabbing Maria as Carter and Brad helped Trevor up. The two were tossed in the getaway Kumura and Brad sped off, Carter grabbing Maria by her jaw.

"Listen to me, you pancake bitch!" Carter hissed. "You better not say one word or else things will happen to you, understand?"

"You're fucking with the wrong person… you realise that?" Maria says, her Italian accent sharp as a bell and Brad's eyes widening.

"Fuck, we grabbed the sister of a mob boss!" Brad yelled.

Carter pulled out the duct tape before his eyes widened. "What did you fuckin' say?"

"That's Maria Vercetti! She's Tommy Vercetti's sister and Tommy was sent away for 15 years after the Hardwood Massacre in 1971!" Brad says, Carter taping Maria's mouth shut but he was shaken by what Brad had said.

"Well fuck, what do we do now?" Carter asked, looking at Maria.

The response was muffled as he taped her wrists together but she pointed to a condo when they reached Ocean Beach, indicating a place to lie low.

"I… guess we'll go there." Carter suggested.

Michael stopped the car, him and Brad helping Trevor into the house and Carter dragging Maria in as well… but he also noticed some aged scars on the side of her head that looked like someone had taken a knife or syringe to it.

Judging from the aged appearance, Carter guessed that Maria was 12, 13 at the oldest when this happened to her.

"I would ask what happened to you but you're our hostage, little pancake." Carter said.

"Stop calling me little pancake, asshole!" Maria yelled from under the tape.

"Yeah, look at how nicely she fills out that dress!" Trevor said through the pain.

"I'm not interested in this pancake bitch." Carter hissed. "You should be glad to be alive while keeping your Johnson in your pants. Fucking revealing yourself, idiot!"

Brad dragged Trevor into the nearest room, finding a set of tongs after Michael ripped the tape off of Maria.

"There's whiskey in the freezer, he's gonna need it." Maria says, Michael nodding and looking at Carter.

' _Past abuse.'_ Michael mouthed before disappearing with the whiskey, Carter seeing a scar on the left side of Maria's chest where her heart is.

"Wow, pancake, you have so many scars on ya." Carter stated.

"Yeah… fucked up life." Maria says, Carter seeing another scar but this one was on Maria's upper back. "Uh, why are you examining me like this?"

"Just watching over you since we have to take you hostage…" Carter said, Maria seeing a faint scar on his left cheek.

' _Either a fight or on the job hazard…'_ Maria thought, turning when Carter looked away and seeing Ken across the street. _'Run, find Tommy!'_ She mouthed, Ken doing so and both hearing Trevor scream in agony.

"Fuck you, Michael!" Trevor yells.

"Yeah, you wish." Michael says, tossing the bullet aside.

"You three are gonna make me throw up in here with pancake bitch!" Carter shouted.

"Where in the fuck's name did you find the crazy one?" Maria asked.

"You calling me crazy, _cupcake_?" Carter asked, standing in front of her.

"Not you, your friend who's got a rager going on in his pants!" Maria says, Carter sitting down.

"I don't know, ask him. I met him and the crazy one a long time ago." Carter said, calming down and pointing to Michael.

"Crazy doesn't even begin to describe Trevor, kid." Michael says.

"I can see that. And I'm 19, I'm not a kid… I haven't been one for a long time." Maria says.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear about that…" Carter said.

"Liberty City damn near tore my soul up… and my sanity…" Maria says, her dark brown eyes a startling contrast to her light brown hair.

"I'm still sorry to hear about that... but ain't you supposed to be quiet? Or you wanna be taped up again?" Carter asked. "I had a rough day so far… along with the three idiots."

Maria nodded, settling back against the armrest. Carter checked on Trevor, who was half conscious.

"Got to give her credit, she's a damn good shot." Trevor says drunkenly.

"She's alright for a feisty lady." Carter said, crossing his arms.

Trevor was stitched up… and when Carter eventually checked on Maria after hearing a soft thump, he found her asleep and somehow having fallen onto the carpet.

"But… she looks kinda cute like that…" Carter said to himself, shaking his head. _'What in the good hell I'm talking about? I'm falling for a hostage?! Hell no!'_

Carter lifted her and placed her into the other bedroom so she'll lie there peacefully... she looked like she needed more than just a nap though.

The room had pictures nearby, Carter picking one up of Maria and Lance. At the oldest in it, Maria looked 14 and had a smile… but her eyes weren't smiling. The look in them was one that asked _"Do you see past my bruises, scars and cuts and see who I am?"_.

"There's something up with her… and I can see it…" Carter whispered, looking back at Maria who was still asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_**5 years ago, bus stop outside Florida…**_

 _Maria had been asleep for only an hour when Carter and Michael got onto the bus._

" _Damn, I can't wait til we hit Vice City. Two weeks of paradise." Michael says._

" _Yeah, I can't wait to get drunk and see the hot chicks around the city." Carter said. "Maybe I'll be lucky to bring one of them home with me."_

" _Never know, old pal." Michael says, the 16 year old sitting in one seat while 14 year old Carter sat in the one next to Maria, whose face was half hidden by the hood of her jacket._

" _Hey, why you so shy?" Carter asked._

 _Maria opened her eyes after hearing that… and that was at the moment that the bus swerved to avoid a pothole, Maria grunting in pain as her back hit the armrest, Carter steadying her._

" _You okay?" Carter asked._

" _Yeah… just a rough trip, been several stops so far. Going to visit family in Vice." Maria says._

" _Hey, that's where me and my friend are going to." Carter said._

" _Hopefully the weather's nicer… I'm so sick of snow." Maria says, Carter picking up a fallen ID card and seeing Maria's picture but next to the name Rebecca Mendez._

" _Your name's Rebecca?" Carter asked._

" _Yeah. Named after my grandmother." Maria says after Carter handed her the ID._

" _Well, I'm Carter Grant, it's nice to talk with you." He said._

" _Nice to talk to you." Maria says as they shook hands._

 **Present time…**

"Couldn't be…" Carter muttered.

"What couldn't be, buddy?" Michael asks.

"M, I think that's the girl who talked with me on the bus when we were teenagers." Carter said.

"You're kidding…" Michael says, looking at Maria, who was muttering in her sleep.

"Thank you for… electing me as the mayor of Circuit City, I will not disappoint anyone." Maria said in her dream like state.

"She wasn't visiting family… she was running from her abuser…" Michael says.

"I think she was…" Carter said, looking back at Maria.

"Our hostage was abused?" Brad asked quietly after walking in.

"Yeah… and I…" Carter said as he kept his stare at her before walking out. "Excuse me…"

"He'll be okay, right M?" Brad asks.

"Yeah…" Michael says.

Carter walked outside, looking at the stormy skies and at the ocean… he put together why Maria had come here and the pictures of her, Lance and Vic with a cocaine stash in the background of one he looked at.

"She ran away from being abused… I hope she's safe here… it's been so long since I've seen her. Maybe she doesn't remember me…" Carter said to himself, his arms crossed.

Carter walked back into the apartment, looking at Trevor.

"One pill makes you larger… and one makes you small… and the ones that mother gives you don't do anything at all…" Trevor sang drunkenly.

"My God, you reek of liquor again?" Carter asked.

"Mmm-hmm…" Trevor says, Carter heading into the kitchen.

He was alone as Michael and Brad were disposing of the masks and gloves and anything with gunshot residue on them… and then he heard it.

A loud smack and scream sent Carter running to the room and kicking open the locked door, Carter hearing Maria scream as she fought back against Trevor.

"Get your drunk ass off her!" Carter yelled, pushing Trevor.

"Go fuck yourself, Grant!" Trevor slurs.

Carter immediately punched Trevor in the face, knocking Trevor out.

Maria looked up at Carter, who saw that her mouth was split open and scratches on her shoulders, Carter picking her up and taking her out of there.

Maria looked back at the condo as Carter was driving away, the tape still on her wrists.

"Listen, I'm sorry about him… he's always that dumb and crazy. Me and my other friend, we don't like him that much." Carter apologized.

Maria nodded as tears were barely held back in her eyes, Carter cutting the tape off her wrists.

"Your brother's probably looking for you… where do you live?" Carter says.

"Starfish Island… light red and brick red mansion, took it from a drug lord three years ago." Maria says, her shaking body calming down.

Carter sighed. "I'll take you there… _Rebecca_."

"My grandmother was really named Rebecca…" Maria says, Carter reaching the island and pulling the car into the driveway as he looked at her. "Look, I'm sorry I reacted how I did at the bank… Carter."

Carter's emerald green eyes widened. "You… do you remember me?"

"Yeah… you were the only person on that bus who even talked to me. One passenger before you got on there thought I was a homeless person and tried to throw me out the doors." Maria says after they got out.

"No one should ever treat you like that… and I'm sorry for calling you pancake back there… I think you're… such a beautiful lady…" Carter said, rubbing the back of his neck and feeling embarrassed.

"I've been called worse than pancake… and you're quite the looker yourself." Maria says before both heard "Start it again!".

"The engine's dead, Michael!" Brad yells.

"Aw, fuck, they followed us…" Carter said.

"We better hide…" Maria says, her and Carter sneaking in through the garden.

The basement led them to the stairs and into the main part of the house itself, Carter looking around.

"You have a nice home, it's better than where I live in." Carter said.

"I like it here but… even with Tommy around, it feels lonely at times… aw, damn it! He's probably tearing the city to shreds looking for me!" Maria says.

"Why you say that?" Carter asked. "I know you're his sister and all of that, but why?"

"I'm his only family left… he got put in prison when I was a baby. Our dad died when I was seven, our mom turned violent after she got involved with a corrupt cop who got her hooked on drugs. I hate selling the stuff but that's the closest I get to it." Maria says.

"I really am sorry to hear about that, Maria, but… somehow my life story is different from yours, which you don't probably wanna hear now." Carter said.

"Yeah…" Maria says, slipping her stiletto heels off as she and Carter wandered down the hall. She opened a door and they walked in.

The room was unlike the rest of the house, ocean and navy blue walls with a queen sized blue and purple bed and a decent sized Tv.

"Where are ya, bud?!" Both heard Michael shout out front, Carter heading to the window.

"I don't want to leave, they'll know that I brought you home." Carter said, seeing Michael looking around.

"Just hide for a bit." Maria says, Carter hiding under the bed and watching Maria walk to the window.

The curtains closed and then he heard the bedroom and bathroom doors open and close… the shower was running a minute later, Carter scrambling out from the bed and into the darkened room.

On the bedside table was a picture of Maria when she was a toddler, a man holding her and her tiny hand on his nose. On the corner of the picture, _My little Angel_ was written.

Carter smiled. "That's really cute…" He said to himself.

Setting it down, he waited… until the bathroom door opened and Maria, wearing a red floor length Chinese peacock inspired satin robe over her satin pajama shorts and top, walked over to the window, her brown curls soaked and her face makeup free.

"I don't see them anymore." Maria says, pulling a small gap in the curtains as Carter walked over.

"Thank God… I don't know what will happen if Michael and Brad saw me with you… somehow… they were noticing what was wrong with me." Carter said, sitting down on the bed.

"They might've ran into Tommy… I saw that Michael was holding his…" Maria says, turning around when Carter stood up, the subtle scent of vanilla and blackberries catching his attention as he gently rested his right hand on Maria's face.

"You're so beautiful…" Carter whispered.

"I haven't… been told that…" Maria says, her brown eyes locked with his green ones as he crouched down and their lips met in a slightly rough kiss, Carter running his hands through Maria's hair.

Carter and Maria had stopped a minute later to catch their breath, looking at each other… and both jumping at a car door being slammed and Tommy yelling.

"Oh fuck…" Maria says, Carter looking for an escape route.

"Where am I supposed to go?" Carter asked.

"On the side of the roof, there's a ladder nailed to it." Maria says as the two headed up to the roof, Carter finding the ladder. "Be careful, the graveyard shift guards are insanely trigger happy!"

"Don't worry about me…" Carter said before pecking Maria's lips and climbing down the ladder. _'I kissed her… I kissed Maria…'_ He thought to himself.

Carter ran to a green Comet, tossed the driver out and jumped in, speeding off to the safe house.

"Damn it, Maria! Get a grip!" Maria growled after walking into her room and closing the door.

She had been kidnapped before, it was part of this life… but never before had she been rescued by one of the kidnappers.

Or kissed him.

Maria didn't know what exactly was going on in her head… but something was telling her not to stay away from Carter.


	3. Chapter 3

"There you are… we were worried, it looks like the girl escaped!" Brad says after Carter walked in.

"Yeah, she did…" Carter said.

"Tossed the bedroom up… ah, better for her anyway with how Trevor was eying her." Michael says.

"I don't wanna talk about it…" Carter said walking towards the bedroom.

Looking around after straightening up, he saw another picture of Maria and Lance… but the date on this was _9/12/1986_ … and from what Carter remembered from the news, Lance had died nearly a week later.

Carter sat down on the bed, looking at the picture once again... but only at Maria…

"I wanna see her again." He said to himself.

 **A few weeks later…**

Lying low in Vice City was turning out to be fun for Carter, him and Maria managing to see each other a few times out of the week as time went by and learning things about each others lives.

Carter got cleaned up and changed his clothes when it was dark outside on an August night, heading out and finding the Malibu Club.

"Well hello again…"

Carter turned, seeing Maria but this time she was in a reddish purple velvet mini dress and red stiletto heels, her curly hair in a high ponytail and a subtle smokey eye makeup look.

"Maria… I barely recognize you… wow, you look…" Carter said, looking up and down at her and finally looking at her brown eyes.

"Quite a change, I know." Maria says, sitting next to Carter and ordering a martini on the rocks, the bartender nodding and not even asking to see an ID.

"So, how did things go with your brother? When you explained it to him that day?" Carter asked.

"Well he freaked out… but once I told him that I had escaped on my own and I was okay, he reluctantly calmed down. Don't worry, I left you guys out of it." Maria says, sipping her drink and Carter ordering a beer.

"Thanks, and I'm sorry for the way I acted when I saw you walk into the bank." Carter apologized. "That's how I am when I'm watching the crowd."

"Always on guard… never panic during a job. One of my former buddies did during a robbery three years ago, got shot and killed in the process." Maria says.

"Really, I always think the same… but I never expect you to pull a gun out on Trevor." Carter said, before sipping his beer. "Between you and me, baby, he really needed that."

"He did, that guy pulled the fucking mask off! We're nearing the nineties, cameras are gonna be a lot more advanced." Maria says.

"Yeah, it was such a dumbass move of him. I bet a few years from now, he'll be in prison…" Carter said.

"Sounds like no prison can contain him…" Maria says as they finished their drinks and _Running With The Night_ by Lionel Richie began to play.

"You wanna dance with me?" Carter asked.

"Of course." Maria says as they walked to the dance floor and began to dance, Carter carefully holding Maria.

Carter's hands rested on Maria's back as she tilted her head up to look at him, his left hand now resting on her right hip… but just as they leaned in, Maria let out a startled yell as she was thrown to the floor by Brad and Trevor grabbed Carter.

"Hey, what the hell's wrong with ya?!" Carter yelled.

"We followed you after Trevor said that you blitz attacked him a few weeks back!" Brad says, pulling Maria up to her feet. "Go on home kid, run on to your family!" He says.

"No, she's staying with me." Carter said, walking towards Maria. "Baby, I'm so sorry that these two _jackasses_ ruined our night."

"I am too because we were having fun… and I haven't felt like a crazy kid in a long time." Maria says as she felt Carter's arm around her shoulders and the two kissed before Maria looked at Brad.

The two left, reaching Washington Beach and looking at the water.

"It's not always paradise here, Carter… I believed that it was at first, I found myself hiding out with one of my former friend's associates… he's a good guy. A little on the scaredy cat side though." Maria says, both laughing softly.

"It's not always paradise with me also. I came from the Midwest and I stayed with my friends who are single, but now I'm staring at someone who I fell in love with… I know it sounds silly but… I really love you, Maria." Carter said.

"I love you too, Carter…" Maria says as they kissed again.

The sound of the waves crashing against the shore were soothing to them… and they headed off to the darker area of the beach.

 **The next morning…**

Maria didn't remember losing her shoes… or how she had ended up in a raft but she looked around, finding herself in Carter's arms.

Maria thought back to the last time she had woken up like this… before pushing Lance into the back of her mind as Carter woke up and both saw that they were floating near the Vice Point area, where the current took them to.

"Well, ain't this a surprise for a new day, huh?" Carter asked.

"I've woken up in strange places here… one time after a party with some friends, I woke up on the couch in the studio over there." Maria says, pointing to the building that had _Steve Scott Productions_ on a sign.

Carter chuckled. "I don't blame ya, baby." He kissed her right shoulder before placing a kiss on her soft lips.

"It was a crazy party from what I remember of it… somehow, Tommy woke up in the seaplane, tied up with his clothes gone." Maria says, both laughing.

"Man, what a fuckin' night we had…" Carter said, laying back down.

"If we can get back to the shoreline, I think we can hail a cab." Maria says, finding a paddle and her and Carter pushing the raft to the sand.

"You again?! Where's my sister?!"

"Why would I know where she is?!"

Tommy and Brad were fighting nearby as Carter and Maria hid.

"The crazy dude said she was with a dark haired green eyed man! You're blonde haired and your crazy friend is dark haired and dark eyed so where are the other two friends?! Which one was she with?!" Tommy shouts.

"Damn it, T!" Carter loud whispered.

"Shh." Maria whispered as Tommy and Brad looked around.

"This crazy city…" Tommy mutters as Carter and Maria saw the white Infernus.

"You better head on home, babe." Carter says before they kissed.

"Just be careful, okay?" Maria asked.

"I will, I promise." Carter said.

Maria headed to where Tommy was as Carter snuck away, Maria and Tommy hugging before they left in the Infernus.

"You, I need to keep a closer eye on." Tommy says after they reached the house.

Once in her room, Maria rolled her eyes.

"You take overprotectiveness to a new level, Tommy." Maria mutters as she turned the radio on… and the song started again.

 _The heart of the city street was beating  
Light from the neons turned the dark to day  
We were too hot to think of sleeping  
We had to get out before the magic got away_

 _We were running with the night  
Playing in the shadows  
Just you and I, till the morning light_

 _(We were running, running with the night) oh_

 _You were looking so good girl, heads were turning  
You and me on the town, ooh, we let it all hang out  
The fire was in us, we were burning  
We were gonna go all the way and we never had a doubt_

 _We were running with the night  
Playing in the shadows  
Just you and I, till the morning light_

Maria wanted to continue seeing Carter… and she wasn't gonna let Tommy stop her.


End file.
